Twelve Frente Para la Victoria (FPV) deputies, led by Diego Bossio, announced yesterday their decision to leave the party’s parliamentary bloc and create a new one
After the shift, the FPV will be left with 83 representatives in the Lower House, retaining their place as the first minority. However, the combination of the parliamentary blocs of the governing Cambiemos alliance —PRO, UCR, and Coalición Cívica– gives the government a lead, with 90 deputies.
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Diego Bossio with ex-president Cristina Fernández and ex-vice president (and his predecessor at ANSES) Amado Boudou in 2011 (photo courtesy of ANSES)
Following a meeting at the Taxi Labourers Union, the group released a document outlining the objectives of the shift.
“It is our duty to lead a responsible opposition within the political space confided to us in National Congress,” they outlined, stating that they would do anything in their power to oppose projects contrary to national interest and the common good.
As a “responsible opposition”, the group stated they also seek to “recognise past errors, correct them, and move on.”
The document also outlined the goal to “build bridges” between national and provincial governments to address the needs of the regional economies, giving resources to “the regions, provinces, and sectors that are the most vulnerable and most in need of the effort of all Argentines.”
Calling themselves Bloque Justicialista, the group wrote, “we are here, and we will work for the happiness of the people and the grandeur of the nation.”
The shift sent accusations through different areas of government, directed both towards the leader of the shift, former ANSES director Diego Bossio, and President Mauricio Macri’s government.
While FPV Bloc Secretary Teresa Garcia labelled Bossio a traitor, she has also blamed the break on the president, claiming that it was “undoubtedly a break promoted by the Casa Rosada.”
Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña denied any involvement, stating “we were not involved; we were always respectful.” He did, however, admit that the debate taking place within the FPV was “healthy.”
Within the FPV itself, bloc leader Héctor Recalde minimised the importance of the split, saying that although it was “not objectively good,” it would be wrong to call it a “fracture.” Similarly, Deputy Máximo Kirchner, claimed in a speech that those who left the FPV had been “functional Macrists.”
The 12 confirmed new members of the Justicialista bloc include Diego Bossio and Oscar Romero, deputies from Buenos Aires; Carlos Rubin, from Corrientes; Evita Isa, Pablo Kosiner, and Javier David, from Salta; Guillermo Snopek and Hector Tentor, from Jujuy; Nestor Tomassi, from Catamarca; Ruben Miranda, from Mendoza; Gustavo Martinez Campos, from Chaco; and Theresa Madera from La Rioja.
Three other potential dissidents have not yet made their positions clear.
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